Got this call last night at 10:30 for a feed truck that had gotten stuck on the ice on a hill. As you can see he had started up the hill with one axle chained up and spun out, slid back to where you see it. The snow on the right side is about the only thing that saved it from going into a steep ditch. Was able to pull him back up to me (twice) to get it straight enough to back him back down him back down the hill and around the corner. We first spread about 150 lbs of salt and turkey grit on the road to be able to walk. As you can see at the bottom of this picture the road was a sheer sheet of ice. The picture does not convey the steepness of the hill. I am not good at percent grades but pretty damn steep!!!

We have "tow bans" here in Iowa that are put in place by the highway patrol when road conditions are questionable, more often that not visibility is a concern as well. Having said that if law enforcement calls for an accident or a vehicle blocking the roadway we are often called to remove it with their help and blessing. We are often just as busy during the ban after a major storm clearing vehicles that were left in the road way so plow crews can do their work. Our county and city police are very good to work with, we can on a case by case basis do tows on gravel roads where traffic is light and visibility is good. Most of the the time the trooper on duty will let us know about when they think the ban will be lifted so we can plan accordingly.
As far as the working around the clock that should be covered by the hours of operation policy's in place. We have all worked too long and been sleep deprived. As was stated above that is a recipe for disaster!!!! The one exception that will over ride the hour law is a request by law enforcement for a roadway blockage as was also stated above. There is NO JOB so important that it's safety should compromised for it's completion!!!!

Did this one this afternoon after 24 hours of 32 degrees and rain. Now it is 9 degrees and 30 mph winds
Slid it out of the ditch, grabbed and towed to their home, all without keys.......and yes the window was down all night and day......